Shades Of Grey
by Caz Malfoy
Summary: After Captain Hart's vague reference to Grey, Jack decides to tell Ianto the truth about their past relationship. - AU due to revelations in 'Adam'


**Title: **Shades Of Grey  
**Fandom: **Torchwood  
**Pairing: **Jack/Ianto, Mentions of Jack/Hart  
**Rating: **FRMT  
**Timeline/Spoilers: **After 'Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang' (2x01), before 'Sleeper' (2x02).  
**Summary: **After Captain Hart's vague reference to Grey, Jack decides to tell Ianto the truth about their past relationship.

x

It had been a long time since Ianto Jones had ventured beyond the Hub or his apartment to eat somewhere that didn't provide takeout. The restaurant Jack had chosen was perfect; the service was good, the food even better and the lights were dim enough to create romantic atmosphere, yet not so low you couldn't see. They were situated near the kitchen and every time the doors opened, Ianto got a waft of gorgeous smelling air.

Jack was sitting opposite him, wearing a gorgeous black shirt and matching trousers, his dark coat was hanging the cloakroom where the hostess had placed it. They mostly ate in silence, both using the quiet to appreciate the flavour of their food. Occasionally, Jack would look up and offer Ianto a bright smile, which made his insides very happy, before returning to his food.

Some time during the meal, Jack appeared to have gotten bored and decided to divide his time between eating and running his foot up the back of Ianto's calf. Slowly inching up his leg until he couldn't take it anymore and had to pull back, in case he did something that got them banned from the restaurant forever.

On the walk back to Ianto's apartment they spoke very little, both were happy simply being in each other's company that they couldn't find it in them to speak and break the silence. Their fingers brushed against each other as they walked, sending sparks down Ianto's arm as their skin met.

Outside his door, Ianto turned to his boss, ready to ask him up to the apartment for coffee, which would probably be followed by sex. Before he had chance to speak, Jack leant forward and pressed their lips together softly.

Their soft moans merged as their lips parted and tongues met. When Jack slid his thigh between his legs, Ianto knew that the invitation wasn't needed. Jack was coming upstairs whether he offered, or not.

x

Jack's eyes flew open early the next morning. He hadn't been sleeping, simply lying in the bed next Ianto and enjoying the closeness of the other man's naked body. Wearily he rubbed his hand over his eyes, trying to rid his mind of the painful images of fire and screams he had hoped he would never hear again.

The scent of burning flesh seemed so real and he was on the verge of retching, when he felt a hand in the centre of his chest, bringing him back to the present and his wonderful lover next to him.

"Are you okay?" Ianto whispered, running his fingers through the fine hair on his chest.

Jack swallowed thickly and nodded his head; not trusting his voice to speak as his mind was assaulted with memories. Their eyes met and Jack had to close his eyes again, blocking out the sight of those worried orbs looking back at him.

What made him think he could get close to Ianto without certain unpleasant memories surfacing? Memories of …

"Sir?" Ianto said, his voice louder than before and Jack had the distinct impression he had been attempting to get his attention for several moments.

He looked up and Ianto gasped when he saw tears filling those beautiful blue eyes he loved. "Jack," he whispered, cupping the time traveller's cheek and running his thumb over his lower lip. "Talk to me," he pleaded.

Jack leant into Ianto's touch, unwilling to speak the words that were causing him so much mental anguish. It always amazed him how Ianto could strip away everything that made him 'Captain Jack Harkness', leaving him as just 'Jack' who wasn't afraid to let Ianto see his weaknesses.

"John…" He felt his lover tense at the mention of the other Captain's name. He knew Ianto was jealous of Jack's relationship with his former partner, despite Jack's reassurances that he had nothing to worry about.

Ianto frowned, trying to understand what the other man was trying to tell him. "Hart? He's what's got you in this mess?"

Jack shook his head and he couldn't help a single tear fall from his eye, which Ianto quickly wiped away. "What he said. Grey."

A heavy silence settled between them for a long moment, until Jack threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. "Come on," he instructed, crossing the room and gathering his clothes from the floor.

Ianto sat up, recognising the shift from 'Lover Jack' to 'Captain Jack' and therefore, the end of their conversation. "Where are we going? Work?" he asked, pulling on his underwear as he stood up.

Jack smiled, all sadness seemingly vanished when he leant down and captured Ianto's lips. His eyes twinkled mischievously as he sucked on his lover's lower lip. "You'll see."

x

It was raining heavily when Jack pulled the SUV into the Hospital car park. The windscreen wipers shutoff when the keys were withdrawn from the ignition and within seconds Ianto couldn't see further than the windshield.

"Sir? What are we doing here?" he questioned tentatively.

Jack grinned and reached into the backseat, grabbing the large umbrella he kept there. Ianto watched as he opened the door and ran around to the passenger side, opening the door to allow the administrator to exit the vehicle.

"Answering your question," Jack replied, leading Ianto to the hospital. "You need to know who Grey is. I just don't know how to explain it to you."

"And you brought me to a hospital to tell me?" he asked incredulously, looking from the brunet next to him and the building.

The corners of Jack's mouth turned up and he winked as he put the umbrella down before heading into the hospital.

Once inside Ianto was surprised at how easily they were able to slip past the staff and patrons unnoticed; Jack even had the audacity to greet several security guards on the way past.

"Sir…" he had to jog a little to keep with Jack, who was walking so fast Ianto was beginning to think that someone was following then. "Is there somewhere in particular…"

He didn't get chance to finish his sentence because Jack chose that moment to open a door and yank his lover inside before slamming the door closed behind them. Jack reached out a flicked on the light, revealing their new location to be a linen cupboard.

The time traveller remained silent as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small glass vial, pulling the stopper out and sniffing it cautiously. For a moment he studied the contents before shrugging his shoulders and drinking the liquid as though it were a liqueur shot.

"Jack…" Ianto backed away as much as possible in the tiny space. "What is that?"

He reached out, grabbing Ianto's wrist and pulling him closer. "Just a small concoction I picked up in the forty-seventh century. It's going to take us back through my memories so you can find the answers to your questions."

x

The world refocused so quickly that neither man was actually aware that their surroundings had blurred for the split second it had taken to access Jack's memories.

Jack released Ianto and opened the door for a moment, seemingly checking that the potion thing had worked. "We'll need to change," he muttered to Ianto, looking around the tiny room for something they could wear. "Have to blend in with the locals."

"Locals?" he repeated, catching the scrubs Jack threw at him. "We're still in the same hospital, aren't we?"

Jack worried his lower lip with his teeth before opening the door and placing a medical mask over his mouth. "Technically."

For a few seconds Ianto stared after him, before following his boss down the corridor. "What do you mean 'technically'? Damn it, Jack, what's going on here?"

Outside a door labelled 'Restricted', Jack stopped and turned to his irritated lover. "Ianto Jones, welcome to the thirty-second century."

He stepped aside, allowing Ianto to look through the glass windowpane in the door.

Inside the room a doctor was standing with his back to the door. It was a long while until he moved and Ianto could see past him. What he did see drew a shocked gasp from him; it was him and Jack, who was holding an infant child in his arms and wearing a proud look on his face.

"You wanted to know who Grey was. That is Grey Jack Harkness-Jones," the brunet informed him, pointing through the glass at the small child. "Born December 4th 3101 at 4:15am," he recited as though he were reading a birth certificate.

Ianto tore his gaze away from the small child and looked into Jack's blue eyes. "Harkness? Are you telling me that… that child is yours?"

"Not just mine, Ianto. His surname is Harkness-_Jones_," he reminded him. "We couldn't decide on whose surname the kid should have, so we gave him both mine and yours. You were adamant that he should have 'Jack' as his middle name, though."

He swallowed thickly and looked back through the glass to see Jack softly singing to the child in his arms. "How did… Please tell me one of us didn't get pregnant."

Jack scoffed and shook his head. "Hell no. Do you have any idea what pregnancy would do to my body? The stretch marks alone would be…" he shuddered at the thought.

"Don't forget, this is the thirty-second century," he continued. "About three hundred years ago the major governing bodies did population studies and found that there was a significant number of males more than females. People were just having more male babies than females. And with more of one sex than the other, it also meant that fewer people were having children. People began to get worried that soon the whole species would die out."

"It took them almost two hundred years but they somehow managed to perfect human reproduction between two people of the same sex. It just doesn't happen inside the body like it does naturally, instead they take the sperm – or the egg – from each partner, mix them together and grow the baby in a lab until it's ready to be born."

"After that it was encouraged to find anyone to procreate with, be it the same sex or the opposite. Actually… it's pretty much illegal to be over sixteen and single now."

Ianto could feel his head spinning as he processed the information Jack was pouring over him. "And in there… How old am I?"

"Twenty. I got called a cradle robber so many times because of the age difference." Jack actually blushed at his admission. "The whole process takes nine months just like it does normally. You were eighteen when we met and nineteen when we decided to start a family."

"So this was six years ago?"

The brunet rubbed the back of his neck. "Actually it was fifteen years ago." He waved his hand at Ianto's confused look. "I'll explain later," he promised as the world changed again.

This time the change was more noticeable. Instead of being in a hospital, Jack and Ianto were now standing in front of a burning hotel building. "Jack, now what are we doing here?" he demanded.

"Five years after Grey was born we went on a long weekend to London," Jack began, keeping his eyes firmly glued to the scene in front of them. "Two hours into the vacation everything went to hell, then got real bad in a hurry. Terrorists set fire to the hotel we were staying at. Hundreds of people were still trapped inside the building when it caught fire."

His eyes travelled to the memory of himself, holding Grey's tiny hand in his own. Ianto watched in horror as a group of around fifty people came running out of the building, bleeding and screaming in panic. It wasn't difficult for Grey to get caught in the confusion and pulled from Jack's grasp.

"After this we never saw him alive again. The police-bot's found the body of a child Grey's age, but it had been trampled too much and was impossible to identify. We buried him less than a week later." Jack shook his head and wiped a hand across his cheek, drying the tears that had fallen while he relived one of the worst nights of his life.

Ianto stepped closer and slid his arms around Jack, silently offering him comfort as the scene changed and they found themselves back at the hospital once more. "Are we back?" he whispered, not releasing his lover.

Jack raised a shaky hand and pointed up at the sign above the archway. "There's one last memory you need to see."

"And it's just irony you brought me to the memory modification department of the hospital?" Ianto smirked, trying to lighten Jack's spirit.

When the other man didn't answer, nor change his expression, Ianto frowned and stepped through the archway. He felt a hand on his lower back as he was directed toward a cubicle labelled number 7.

Lying in the bed he saw himself unconscious and being held in place by at least half a dozen restraints. Jack was sitting next to him, holding his hand whilst tears freely flowed down his cheeks.

"The process has been completed, Mr Harkness," a doctor was telling Jack as he consulted his smart-clipboard. Jack lifted tired eyes, studying the doctor as he spoke, not releasing the iron clad grip he had on Ianto's hand. "It'll take forty eight hours for Mr Jones to awaken, but when he does he won't remember anything of the last seven years. We've implanted the false memories you requested into his brain and they will activate the instant he wakes."

Jack heard footsteps behind him and he turned to find the space when Ianto had been empty. The nearby stairway door was open and Jack entered the stairwell, not knowing which direction Ianto was heading.

He decided that the roof was probably the most likely place and made it to the top in record time. His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath while he scanned the rooftop looking for Ianto. Just as he was beginning to think he had made the wrong choice, he spotted the figure of his lover crouching in a corner.

"Ianto…" he began, taking a step closer. "I…"

The administrator jumped to his feet and moved away from Jack. "No, don't come near me. You… You had my memories changed, Jack! How am I supposed to believe anything you say? So when they took my memories that actually made me believe I was seven years younger than I am?"

Jack nodded his head solemnly. "How old am I really?"

"Almost thirty-five," Jack whispered. "Didn't anyone ever tell you, you looked older than you were? That you were more mature than most people your age?"

"What else have you done, Jack?"

Jack stopped in his tracks and studied Ianto. "Do you really want to know?" Ianto nodded his head firmly and the Captain sighed.

"After Grey's death you were so empty and hollow; nothing but a shell. You wouldn't speak to me for nearly six months and after that I was the only person you'd talk to. If anyone else came near you, you'd have a panic attack and retreat into yourself again."

Jack ran his hand through his hair as he paced the roof. "I tried everything I could think of to bring you out of it, but nothing worked. I… I didn't see any other option. The doctor's at the hospital studied you for months before they agreed to edit your memories. They wiped out all memories of Grey's life and death…" he took a deep breath, "even all memories of me."

"They took my memories of the two years we had together before Grey was born, leaving me to relive everything that happened between his birth and death. It was part of the deal. They would edit your mind, if I gave them something from mine. Unfortunately, I didn't have a choice about what to give them. I would have chosen my first two years at college or something," he tried to joke.

When Ianto's facial expression didn't change; he sighed and continued with his confession. "That was when I stopped sleeping. In sleep the pain was too hard to deal with. I haven't slept more than a few hours per night in ten years."

"With memory alterations, being in the same place as a traumatic event can reverse the process. You were born and raised here in this century Cardiff. We met when I was just passing through. I'd never stayed anywhere for longer than six months until I arrived here. Ianto, you were the one that made me stay."

"After the modification I took you through time, back to the twentieth century in the hope that there wouldn't be anything there that would trigger the memories. I left you in London, studying at the local college, before I… I left."

"You left me alone in a place I'm not from… Hell, in a _time _I'm not from, while you went gallivanting around space and time. I bet you were with Hart then, weren't you?" Ianto spat angrily.

Jack lowered his head, studying the floor sadly, not able to stand the look on his lover's face. "I was away for five years and yeah, I was with John, but it's not what you think." Ianto raised an eyebrow. "Okay, it is what you think, but I never loved him. He was the only one I could talk to about you and he made the pain at losing you bearable."

"You've got to understand, the pull between us is so strong that I couldn't stand to ignore it. That's why John was so pissed off at me, I left without saying goodbye to him. I needed to be near you, even if I couldn't be _with _you in case the memories came back."

"But you arrived in Cardiff instead of London," Ianto sniffled, wiping his hand over his cheeks.

"Being in the twentieth century made it easier to deal with the pain," Jack admitted. "Even though we were nowhere near each other."

Ianto took several steps closer to the other man. "But then I moved back home… to Cardiff and joined Torchwood. I… I've always felt like I didn't belong there, but I never had any idea I could be from another time."

Jack half-laughed, half-sobbed as he pulled Ianto into his arms, holding him tightly against his chest. Neither man spoke, they simply held each other close, breathing in each other's scent as they tried to come to terms with everything.

"I was worried that starting a relationship with you would bring back your memories, but after the first few times we kissed, you didn't act like you remembered anything. And I wasn't strong enough to stay away from you any longer," he whispered, pressing his lips against Ianto's temple.

"Aww, isn't that just the sweetest thing you've ever seen?"

Both men looked up and their eyes narrowed in hatred as they saw Captain John Hart standing by the edge of the roof.

Before anyone was even aware he had moved, Jack was pinning Hart to the floor, half-hanging off the edge of the building. "What the hell are you doing here?" Jack demanded, tightening his grip on the front of Hart's jacket.

"I followed you," John stated matter-of-factly. "Do you mind bloody getting off of me?" he demanded, trying to extract himself from Jack's grip.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you," Jack spat, tightening his grip on Hart as he held him over the ledge.

John smirked and met Jack's eyes with his own. "How are you going to find your son without me?"

Ianto took a step forward and placed a hand on Jack's shoulder, making the other man lessen his grip slightly. "Grey's dead," he whispered, glaring down at Hart.

The scene around them slowly began to change and Ianto knew that Jack had shown him all the memories he needed to see and they were heading back to the twenty-first century.

Jack shook Hart violently. "What do you know?" he growled as they arrived back in 2008.

"Enough to know that your son isn't as dead as you think he is." He gasped when he felt Jack's hand close around his throat, restricting his air supply. "Okay, okay…" he gasped, trying to prying the other time traveller's hand away from his neck. "I was in a tight spot back then; gambling problems and all. The bookies said they were going to kill me if I didn't pay them back."

"That's a touching story," Jack injected sarcastically. "Get to the point."

"I needed a sure thing and at the time it seemed like a good idea," Hart shrugged as best as he could given his current position underneath Jack.

Ianto stepped closer. "What seemed like a good idea?" he demanded.

"I knew this guy, Earnesto, from way back. He used to arrange crimes for high up types. You know, politicians and the like? Anyway, for a few hundred quid he'd arrange a kidnapping for you, no questions asked. I moved around for a few weeks observing the locals; you know, seeing which ones looked most likely to be good targets."

"Then I saw sweet-cheeks over here," he nodded towards Ianto, "with little Grey. You arrived and I knew you would do anything to protect that kid. I arranged the kidnapping and bet my bookies that you…" John's eyes met Jack's, "wouldn't stop until the kid was back with you."

"Little did I know you'd find the body of a dead kid and mistake it for Grey."

Jack and Ianto were too stunned at Hart's confession to do anything for a long moment, before Jack punched his former lover. "And those five years we were together? What was that? Another way to brag that you won?"

He touched a finger to his bleeding lip. "Don't you get it? I didn't win the bet. The deal was you wouldn't stop at anything, you found one dead kid, assumed it was your son and stopped looking. I've been avoiding the bookies ever since. When we got together it was just coincidence, I swear." John chuckled nervously. "I honestly thought you'd found out and were there to kill me."

In a flash Jack had drawn his gun and put it to Hart's chin; safety off and ready to be fired. He leant down so their noses were touching and snarled, "There's still time."

The grip Ianto had on his shoulder tightened and Jack replaced the safety and lowered the gun slightly. When Ianto spoke his voice was thick with emotion, "Where is he?"

Hart shifted uncomfortably beneath Jack. "Tell this bastard to move and I'll tell you."

In the blink of an eye the safety was off again and John felt the cold steel of the barrel against his chin once more. "How about this, Johnny? You tell us where the hell he is, or I shoot you in the kneecaps and leave you up here while you bleed to death."

Knowing full well that his former lover was well versed in the art of torture, John sighed and looked up into Jack's blue eyes. "He's here; the twenty-first century. Grey's here."

"Where?"

"How the bloody hell should I know?"

Hart managed to land a punch on Jack's jaw, catching him unaware and knocking the other Time Agent off of him. The gun flew out of Jack's hand, slid across the roof and landed at Ianto's feet. Both men froze and looked on uncertainly as Ianto held the gun trained on Hart.

The safety was still off and all Ianto needed to do was squeeze the trigger and John would end up with a bullet hole in the centre of his chest.

"Ianto…" Jack said, holding his hand out as he slowly got to his feet. "Give me the gun."

The Welsh-man shook his head, the gun still firmly locked onto Hart. "He deserves to die," he whispered, his lower lip shaking as he tried to control his emotions.

Jack took a step closer, not breaking eye contact with his lover. "I know he does. But, trust me, Ianto, you don't want to do this. Killing him would do nothing to make what he did better and it'll eat you away for the rest of your life. Every waking hour will be like torture if you try to live with this. It'll be even harder to deal with at night."

To the casual observer it would appear that Ianto was standing his ground, but Jack could see the resolve fading in his eyes. "Please, Ianto," he pleaded, covering the gun with one hand and lowering it, eventually managing to extract it from Ianto's grip.

The second Ianto felt a pair of arms slide around him, he collapsed against the other man's chest, clutching at Jack's braces as he sobbed into his shirt.

"Aww, poor baby doesn't have the balls to shoot big bad me. What a…"

Hart didn't even manage to finish his sentence before Jack spun around and put a bullet through his right shoulder, drawing a pained scream from John as he fell back clutching his wound.

"Be glad I didn't give you what you really deserve."

x

Owen slid back into the chair and put his feet on the desk. He smelt the hot cup of coffee he was cradling in his hands. It at least smelt good, he just hoped it tasted half as nice.

Taking a cautious sip, he grimaced and got to his feet once more, heading into the small kitchen area of the visitor's entrance. It figured that the one time he could actually murder a cup of coffee, Ianto was nowhere to be found and everyone knew he was the best at brewing the beans perfectly.

As he poured the hot liquid down the drain he heard footsteps and the door open. Owen turned around to see Ianto heading through the opening entrance to Torchwood.

"Hey!" he called after his colleague, only to receive nothing but silence as an answer. "Fine! Be like that. I just hope you can explain to Jack where you've been for twenty hours!"

x

Jack was sitting in his office, staring blankly at the computer printout in front of him. Tosh had presented the Time Agent with the data that morning and he had no idea what he was supposed to be looking at. Every time he tried to focus on the numbers in front of him, his mind kept returning to Ianto who had been busying himself with tidying his already immaculate apartment when Jack left for the Hub that morning.

Neither man had slept the previous night, after returning from the trip through Jack's memories. And while this wasn't unusual for Jack, he was worried about the effect sleep deprivation would have on Ianto's mental state.

"Hey, Jack," Owen called, walking into the office looking annoyed. "Have you seen Ianto this morning? He comes in, three hours late, and just completely ignores me as he gets in. You need to have a word with him."

"Where is he?"

Owen directed the Captain out of the door and following him; no doubt hoping to see Ianto get into trouble by his lover.

Jack paused momentarily when he saw the figure of Ianto sitting on the couch, holding a slice of cold pizza in his hand as he seemingly waited for someone. The second he took a step closer, the sirens began to sound and the mechanical door began to open.

"Hey, boss," Ianto greeted, yawning as the door slid closed once more. "Sorry I'm late, bad night last…" He trailed off when he saw that Tosh, Jack and Owen were staring down at him in confusion. "What?"

Instantly Tosh and Owen drew their guns and trained them on Ianto. "Jack? What the hell is going on here?" the doctor demanded.

Jack rushed to the railing, looking down at his lover who was mirroring his look of confusion. The second he saw the tiredness on his face, Jack knew the newcomer was the real Ianto.

"Lower your weapons," he commanded. "That's really him."

The Ianto-double on the couch jumped when Jack dragged him to his feet by the front of his shirt. "Who are you?" he demanded, pressing him against the wall and meeting his blue eyes with… his own?

With a gasp, Jack released the young man and fell back several steps. His mouth was moving but none of the Torchwood team could make out any words.

"Jack?" Tosh asked, rushing forward in concern.

He shook his head, bringing himself back to the present and their situation. "Tosh, Owen, find Gwen and tell her you've all got the rest of the day off. Ianto, you're staying here because you were supposed to be working last night."

Owen smirked at Ianto as he and Tosh left the Hub, both intending to go to the pub for a celebratory drink.

As soon as the door closed, Ianto ran up the stairs two at a time, before stopping behind his boss. "Jack, what's going on here?"

"Ianto," Jack took a deep breath, his gaze travelling back and forth between the two identical men. "I think you should meet Grey Jack Harkness-Jones."

The younger man grinned and raised his head, revealing a youthful face almost identical to Ianto's and expressive blue eyes like Jack. "Hey dad," he whispered bashfully.

Ianto didn't speak as he pulled Grey into his arms and held him tightly, burying his nose in the younger man's hair. As he breathed in his scent, Ianto felt something inside his mind change; only a small difference at first, but within seconds he found he could remember everything about his home time, Jack, Grey and their life together.

"How did you find us?" Jack whispered, his voice thick with emotion as he put a hand on Grey's shoulder, not wanting to interrupt the father/son moment.

Jack let out a startled noise when Grey released Ianto and threw himself into his second father's arms, clutching at the Captain's coat desperately.

"I… I was raised in an orphanage after the fire. Everyone thought I was some kind of celebrity, being the only child of Captain Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones. Your reputation precedes you wherever you go, dad," he looked up in Jack's eyes.

"When I heard rumours that the twenty-first century Torchwood leader was Captain Jack Harkness, I knew I had my chance to meet you guys again."

Grey held up his right wrist guiltily and Jack laughed when he saw the wristband adorning his wrist. "You stole this from a Time Agent?"

Ianto tried his hardest to look ashamed with his son, until Jack grinned and pulled both of them closer. "That's my boy! That's my boy," the Captain whispered.

x

Jack lay in Ianto's bed, half covered by the sheets as he stared up at the ceiling. It had been a long few days and he was glad to be able to lie down for longer than a few moments without having to go to work.

He looked up when Ianto entered the room, closing the door softly behind him. "Is he asleep?" Jack asked quietly, watching as Ianto stripped and climbed into the bed next to him.

"Yeah," he whispered, kissing Jack's chest before settling back against the pillows. "Travelling across eleven centuries must be exhausting."

Jack chuckled and looped an arm around Ianto. "It is, believe me."

He pressed a soft kiss on his lover's forehead, whispering goodnight as he closed his eyes.

And for the first time in ten years, Captain Jack Harkness slept peacefully for the whole night.

The End


End file.
